Anthony Watts pointed out that the warmists are increasingly using emotionalism as a motivator for their concern about “global warming.” Language games are an important part of the leftist tool kit. First example is the change from “global warming” to “climate change”— somewhat necessary since it hasn’t warmed in over 17 years, but the climate is always changing, as you probably noticed last winter when the Great Lakes froze over. Anthony quotes Sean Long from the Media Research Center — headline:

Network Coverage of ‘Extreme Weather’ Up Nearly 1,000 Percent

Ten years ago ABC, CBS and NBC barely used the phrase, now they go to extremes despite scientific disagreement.

A “bizarre cold snap” is hitting the U.S. and the media have already begun to draw comparisons to the polar vortex. It is only a matter of time before the networks resume panic over “extreme weather.” …

The networks have worked tirelessly to promote the idea that extreme weather events were more common than they actually have been. What used to just be called weather, is now extreme. On May 6, 2014, NBC White House Correspondent Peter Alexander told “Nightly News” viewers to “just think of all the extreme weather headlines in the last months. Floods, tornadoes, record cold and record droughts.”

Climatologist Dr. John Christie has looked back as far as the 1850s and found there to be no trend in hurricanes. There has not been a single major hurricane (over category three) to hit the United States in seven years. Hurricane Sandy was a minimal hurricane.

The drought in California is not “the worst drought on record” but consistent with previous California droughts. Watch for the emotional words. They are used on purpose. Remember “polar vortex?” There are fewer tornadoes. Floods are not increasing. Dr. John Holdren, Obama’s science advisor, introduced the phrase “Global Climate Disruption” in a presentation at the Kennedy School of Government in 2007, although at that point it hadn’t warmed since 1997:

“Global warming is a misnomer,” said John P. Holdren, speaking at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at the Kennedy School on November 6. “It implies something gradual, uniform, and benign. What we’re experiencing is none of these.”

Holdren also urged the United States to spearhead this effort, going from being a “laggard in climate policy to being a leader.” Once that happens, he said, the rest of the world will follow suit.

Surely you didn’t think that it was accidental that the entire “endangered species” bit has been portrayed only with particularly attractive species — baby harp seals, polar bears and the ever so cute cubs. We’re suckers for that stuff.

Haven’t you noticed that the influx from Central America are “innocent children,” despite all evidence to the contrary? And now the left is describing them as “our children.”

Another of today’s headlines on Watts Up With That:“Told ya so —Washington Post links Ebola to Climate Change”

President Obama tried to pressure “climate change deniers” in a recent interview. He said that most CEOs in the United States are paying attention to climate change, and they are more concerned with the administration’s climate policies than with debating the science. What they want is some certainty about the regulations so they can start planning. They have to make capital investments and have to look at investments for 20 and 30 years out. They have to know if we are putting a price on carbon? Are we serious about this?

“But none of them are engaging in some of the nonsense that you’re hearing out of the climate change [deniers},” Obama said.

The president drew a stark contrast between the questions CEOs are asking about his carbon pollution limits on existing power plants and the attacks from Republicans in Congress who say the standards will devastate the economy and businesses.

Companies like General Mills, Microsoft, IBM and Coca-Cola have joined efforts to mitigate climate change. Some oil companies like Shell have also joined others in supporting strong cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

Obama said that CEOs always complain about regulation, but that his “policies have produced a record stock market, record corporate profits, 52 months of consecutive job growth, 10 million new jobs, the deficit being cut in half, an energy sector that’s booming, a clean-energy sector that’s booming, a reduction of carbon pollution greater than the Europeans or any other country.” He added:

I think you’d have to say that we’ve managed the economy pretty well and business has done OK.

This is so delusional, you just have to wonder. We are also told that he doesn’t talk to anybody outside of his closest advisers. Certainly he has no understanding that his job growth does not compensate for the new people who are entering the job market and those who have given up and are no longer looking. The situation is getting worse, not better.

Nobody is a “climate change denier.” Climate change is always going on and the planet warms and cools in cycles that are not yet well understood. What we do deny is that the slight increase in warming — less than 1° in a century —is anything to get excited about. The planet has been far warmer in the past, and the Medieval Warm Period which was much warmer, was the finest climate known to man. The Vikings settled in Greenland and built farms. Wine grapes grew in northern England, and the fine climate meant the fend of the Dark Ages and the flowering of the Renaissance.

Today there has been no warming for over 17 years, for the sun has gone quiet. The greens insist that warming will mean more hurricanes, more tornadoes, more forest fires, rising oceans, the list of things that are or will be caused by global warming climate change is unbelievably long, and fairly amusing.

A dozen states filed suit on Friday to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from enacting its “Clean Power Plan.” These are the new rules that would put many coal-fired plants out of business, and hundreds of people out of their jobs. The EPA held hearings last week for the public about the plan. Four hearings, nationwide. In Pittsburgh thousands of coal workers turned out to register their objections to the Obama administrations intentions.

Leading industry groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Petroleum Institute, the National Mining Association, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers and more, have told the EPA that their new climate regulation is “not workable.”

“There is obviously going to be legal action in the future,”said Jay Timmons, CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers. “We would like to see the rule altered and see the agency stop and listen to constituents and the consumers that will be most impacted. But assuming all things stay as they are, then we’ll see some action in the courts.”

The Clean Power Plan is a very bad regulation that has far more negative results that the EPA understands. If the climate is actually cooling, and last winter was a preview, then America will need more electric power, not less. Coal-fired power plants currently provide about 40 percent of our electricity needs, reliably and cheaply. Retrofitting those plants to meet EPA standards may mean that most will shut down because the possible retrofit is too expensive. Big jumps in the cost of power on top of big jumps in the cost of health care may be, to use a favorite theme of the left — unsustainable. Increases in the cost of energy means inflation as the cost of everything goes up dramatically. The Left does not understand incentives, and they really don’t understand, nor look for, unintended consequences. They still do not understand that wind and solar are simply unworkable and can never produce any significant part of our energy needs.